HP-24 Project

Update 1 May 2003: The other side of the plug

We had a brief warming window in the weather, so this morning Doug Gray and I did the fiberglass for the bottom surface of the horizontal stabilizer plug. Since this layup closes the plug structurally, I'll probably leave it bagged and weighted down through the weekend. That will help it cure while straight, untwisted and unbowed.

The next step on the horizontal stabilizers will be to finish and attach the tips. I made those out of stacks of 3/8" PVC foam ribs bandsawed to contour, stacked onto threaded rods, and sanded to shape. Once those are in place, we'll contour the tips into the main panels, sand it all smooth, and apply a coat or two of Poly-Fiber Smooth Prime. That's a water-based UV-inhibiting polyester primer/filler that I learned about from Russia builder Jim Cooper. I saw Jim's Russia at the Soaring Expo in Seattle, and was very much impressed with the finish. Very nice indeed.